To say it’s been a rough road for John Klingberg might be an understatement.

Since he was drafted into the league, issues with his hips plagued him, but it never held him back from being one of the game’s premier offensive defencemen. At his peak with the Dallas Stars, he was, to put it simply, a force to be reckoned with.

And while it may have impacted his own game, it also caused havoc for opposing players trying to read what he was doing.

“I think when Klingy’s at his best, playing against him, he was always hard to read as a winger because his hips were going millions of different directions, you don’t know which direction his feet are going because his hips are opening and turning,” said Oilers winger Zach Hyman.

“For a guy who uses his hips a lot, having that kind of surgery, it takes time. You saw with Brownie with the ACL, I had my ACL — when you have a big surgery, you don’t just flip the switch right away.

For him to step up the way he has in the L.A. series, this series, I think a lot of people kind of wrote him off, wrote his career off, and he’s a heckuva player.”

The surgery he referenced was a hip resurfacing, giving Klingberg metal implants in his hips.

He underwent it in late 2023, concluding a 14-game stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs that was preceded by disappointing stints with the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild after the Stars let him walk in free agency in 2022.

Klingberg signed a one-year deal with the Oilers in January as the team looked to bolster depth on their blueline. The jury was very much out on him in his first games with the team, getting five games in, sitting during the 4 Nations Face-Off, only to be injured in early March blocking a shot against the Anaheim Ducks.

It put him back on the shelf through the remainder of the regular season, and with Mattias Ekholm going down with an injury of his own, Klingberg was thrust into the playoff lineup for Game 2 of the Oilers’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings.

There was undeniable trepidation about what he would be able to do for the club, but it took little time for him to find his legs. He notched an assist in his first game back, taking a shot on goal and blocking three more, and he just continued to build from there, becoming someone who made a significant impact on the outcome of that series.

And after another strong performance in Game 1 of Edmonton’s second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights, one where he helped kick off their comeback with a stretch pass the led to Corey Perry’s goal in the first, it’s clear he’s starting to look like his old self.

“I feel good. I think it also helps playing more and more games and getting to know the guys,” said Klingberg. “Now I’ve been here for a while, so that helps. I think the way I move right now on the ice, I feel very comfortable with my new hips and all that. I just feel like it’s getting better and better, so I’m very happy about that, obviously.”

It’s certainly taken an adjustment period, he said, having to learn how to play with his new hips, but it’s something he’s becoming more and more comfortable with.

“It’s different for sure, but it’s the new normal, so it takes time. But like I said from the start, it’s going to be a process and the thing I’m very excited about it just getting better and better every week.”

His coach has taken notice, too.

“We knew John could handle it — he’s been a No. 1 defenceman for many years in this league — just not this year, last year,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “But we knew that when we needed him, he could give us some quality minutes and some quality play.

“For him to come back from injury that he has and play sporadically for us… you’re not really sure what he’s going to be giving us and that goes with a lot of the playoff coming back into our lineup just becasue of the way the schedule worked.

“We knew we could get some good things out of him. Not necessarily at the level he’s playing right now, because he’s been helping our team quite a bit since he came into the lineup in Game 2 against L.A..”

Now, through six playoff games, he’s chipped in a pair of assists, taking 26 shots on goal and blocking a dozen. He’s been partnered with Jake Walman, and the pair have been nothing short of excellent, outscoring the opposition 3-1 in 66:57 minutes at five-on-five, all the while controlling 58.4 percent of the shot attempt share, 62.3 percent of the scoring chance share and a staggering 70.4 percent of the expected goal share.

Klingberg’s emergence has given the Oilers a new dynamic on their back end and solidifying them as top contenders once again.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.